Much of the research on barriers to ICT integration in second and foreign language education takes place within the context of English as a Second Language (ESL) environments, making their applicability in the Core French, FSL, and French Immersion contexts problematic given the preponderance of English-language resources available in the open market and online. ESL educators and researchers have likely rarely encountered problems associated with a lack of language-appropriate applications and software, the result being that the issue is not discussed in that field’s literature.
The few available studies that explore ICT in a minority-language, non-ESL context do address the issue, however. In one study of Chinese Second Language (CSL) instructors, participants strongly agreed that a lack of software and of platforms for accessing and sharing ICT-related materials was a factor hindering ICT implementation. (Lin, 2014) Participants of a Moroccan study of factors inhibiting ICT integration in Science classes in that country identified “unsuitable material”, “non-existent material”, and “inaccessible material” as the biggest obstacles to ICT integration and adoption, after training issues and time constraints. (Omar & Benjelloun, fig. 2)
The research most pertinent to the Canadian context is a study undertaken in 2013 by Richard Hechter and Laurie Anne Vermette. They surveyed K-12 Science teachers from across Manitoba to identify barriers to ICT integration in their classrooms. Their findings align with those of other researchers who suggest the main impediments to effective ICT integration here are the same as those identified in previous studies.
One issue of particular note in the study, however, was the number of teachers (almost 9%) indicating that a lack of age or language appropriate resources factored into their decision whether or not to integrate ICT. In their discussion, Hechter and Vermette state, “[o]f the teachers that reported that knowing where and how to acquire language appropriate technology-based resources was a limiting factor, the overwhelming response was that French resources were either unavailable, or teachers were unsure how to locate technology-based resources in the French language” (pp. 84-85).